October 3, 2023—Paraclete Press announces the release of All Creation Waits Children’s Edition: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings (Hardcover Book: ISBN 978-1-64060-828-3 | October 3, 2023 | 64 pp | 8.5X9.5 | $20.99) from bestselling author Gayle Boss: a stunningly illustrated picture book edition of her beloved Advent book, All Creation Waits. Information about the November East Coast Book Tour, events in the Grand Rapids area, free resources, and more is at https://allcreationwaits.com/
Children open the book’s double-page spreads as they would the doors on an Advent calendar. Each day of Advent a different animal shows children its own amazing way to meet the dark and cold. Wood Frog freezes into a frog-shaped cube of ice! For six months Painted Turtle doesn’t breathe! Woodchuck can’t be wakened, even if shaken! With each creature, children hear the refrain: The dark is not an end. It’s a door. It’s the way a new beginning comes. Here is the ancient truth of Advent enacted in the lives of 24 common woodland animals and culminating in the birth of the Human One who perfectly lived that truth. In an often chaotic “holiday season,” children ages 5-10 will learn to slow down and wait with all creation, delighting in the lilting poetic lines, the vivid descriptions of animals’ winter lives, and the original watercolor paintings by award-winning artist Sharon Spitz that convey the radiance of each creature.
“Saying I loved All Creation Waits is an understatement. It moved me and inspired me. My family will be using it to welcome in Christmas, not just once, but for years to come. As a parent, I love the space the book leaves for my own kids’ responses and the prompts that are truly at a child’s level. It’s a delight and my new go-to recommendation for families.” —Meredith Miller, pastor and author of Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kids Don’t Have to Heal From
“This book is at once gorgeous and glorious, quiet as falling snow, and still as a hibernating animal. It captures the magic and promise of Advent in words and pictures—reminding us, gently but powerfully, of God’s love for all His creatures—including us.”
—Sy Montgomery, National Book Award Finalist and New York Times bestselling author of How to Be a Good Creature
“A gorgeous exploration in words and pictures of animals in winter, life in darkness, beauty in nature, the wonder of the world…”
—Deborah Heiligman, author of Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, a National Book Award Finalist
“All Creation Waits is an Advent book as exquisite as it is unusual. In a season which often centers on human stories and celebrates the triumph of light, this enthralling book directs our gaze elsewhere: to our animal kin and what they can teach us about stillness, waiting, and the generative power of darkness. Poetic, wise, stunningly illustrated, and rich in mystery, All Creation Waits is an ideal Advent companion for curious children (and grownups too). I can hardly wait to share it with my own family.”
—Laura Alary, author of Look! A Child’s Guide to Advent and Christmas and many other books
Gayle Boss writes in Michigan, where she was born and raised. Her life-long love of animals and her immersion in spiritual texts and practices have melded in poems and essays that explore how relationships with animals specifically, and an attentive presence in the natural world generally, restore us to our deepest selves. The mother of two grown sons, she lives in Grand Rapids with her husband.
Sharon Spitz is an illustrator and a graphic designer currently based between Berlin and Haifa. She was the winner of the 2021 Jewish Children’s Book Award.
For interviews with Gayle Boss, or review copies of All Creation Waits Children’s Edition, contact Publicist Rachel McKendree at rachelm@paracletepress.com or 508-246-4700.
